Clasp for garment-supporters.



No. 840,515. PATEN'IED JANQB, 1907.

E. PRENTIGE. CLASP FOR GARMENT SUPPORTERS.

APPLICATION FILED OOT.1 19'04.

p I No. s4o,515.

-. UNITED STATES GEORGE PRENTICE, OF

"PATENT- OFFICE.

New BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT. ASSIGNOR To CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

CLASP FOR GARMENT-SLJPPORTERS.

Patented Jan. 8, 1907.

Application filed October 1 1904. Serial No. 226,828.

I 1'0 all whom, it may concern.-

. Be it known thatI, GEORGE E. PnEN'rIoE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford. and- State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clasps for Garment-Sn porters; and I do hereby declare the fol owin to be a full, clear, and exact description the same,- reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a art of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This inventionrelates toe clas s for gar ment-supporters, and particular y 'to that class of clasps adaptedto directly engage the garment itself and serve as the means for connecting the arment with the supporter. The objects 0 the invention are to provide a simple and strong device adapted to effect 5 A arrangements of parts, all aswill be now described,'and pointed out particularly in they ap ended'claims.

a osltive engagement with av garment of either thick or thin fabric and to so cushion and distribute the strain thereon as to prevent tearing or other injury to the fabric.

The invention consists in certain novel detailsof construction and :combinations and eferring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a clas embodying the-present improvements" 1n its closed or locked position. Fig; 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view with the tongue partially opened in full lines and full open in dotted lines. .Figs. 4 and 5 are details of the elasticcushion detached from the clasp. Fig. 6 is a detail view of amodified form of cushion. Fig. 7 is an elevation ofthe'operating-arm or lever.-

Like letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts;

The body of the clasp (indicated by the end of t e body A. The u turned end is preferabl turned back over t e body ortion A, 'where y a recess or chamberis ormed for the reception of an elastic cushion B, in which instance the upturned end and elastic cushion constitute the abutment. ating armor lever C is pivotally connected at an intermediate point with the upper end An oper-.

of the body, one end of said lever 0 serving both as a convenient finger-piece and as the means for securing the clasp to the su porter, while the opposite end is pivotally connected with the upper end of the lockingtongue D.'

,The tongue D is preferably formed of sheet metal, while the operating arm or lever is of wire bent into the form of a loop 0, through which the supporter-web may ass and to the lower bar of which the bod y is pivotally connected by ears 0, a, bent forward of the plane of the body and around the lower bar of the loop, as shown. The ends of the wire approach closely together or meet at the center of the lower bar of the 100 and are then bent outwardly in opposite ecan end wire thrust against the cushion heldby-the body and to form, with the lockinglever, a toggle, the joint of which moves across will be noted that in the present structurerthe' desired result is secured-by the simple ex e- .the dead-center to retain the device in its.

locked position, as is well understood; but it dient of turning the ears on the body or- 4 wardly and those on the tongue backwardly. This formation not only makes the device thin but aflords am le s ace between the body and tongue for i516 e ge of the garment when the clasp is locked. I

The supporter being attached to the operating-lever above its axis tends to hold the parts in locked position when under strain, and this effect is somewhat increased by setting the up er portion of the operating-lever back at a s ight angle to the lower end and planeof the clasp when in closed position, as

will be readily understood from ,an inspection of Fig. 2.

The cushion before referred to is preferably soft rubber and preferably has a cavity or recess, such as b or b, Figs. 4 and 6, to increase its range of elasticity. It is held in lace in. amping the hook-she. ped end of the body by c the latter upon it or by the teeth or spurs t, the "endsbf which may be seated in the rubber on each side of the central rojection h, behind which the cushion is confined. A lip I) of the cushion preferably projects foru per end of wardly to prevent contact of the garment with the metal of the body and to afforda smooth elastic surface for that part of the garment subjected to the greatest strain, while an apron or flange b projects up at the inner side to form a stop against which the garment and tongue may be pressed in clos ing the device. This apron also performs the important function of preventing the garment from being pushed down behind the cushion by the tongue and insures it being pressed only against a soft resilient body.

It will be noted that. when the clasp is in closed position the tongue will be forced into the elastic cushion, as shown in Fig. 2, and through the resiliency of the cushion the device will clasp and hold securely either thick or thin fabrics without danger of tearing them;

The recesses or cavities in the cushion increase the elasticity to a very material extent, and at the same time the resistance of the cushion is sufficient to secure a firm grip under any conditions. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure-by Letters Patent, is

' 1. A claspfor garment-supporters embodying a body-portion having one end turned back to form a chamber, an elastic cushion held in said chamber, a tongue, a locking-lever formed of a single iece of wire formed into an upper webbing- -00 to the lower bar of which the upper end of t e body portion is pivotally connected, said loop constituting the means for o crating the lever, the ends of the wire being ent outwardly from the center of said loYer bar, to which wire ends the he tongue is pivotally connectsubstantially as described.

2. A clasp for garment-supporters, em- I bodying a body portion having an upturned end and elastic cushion constituting an abutment, a tongue, an operating arm or lever, pivotally connected at an intermediate point with the up er end of the body, the upper end of said ever constituting the means for securing the clasp to the webbing and for operating the lever, the lower end of the lever being pivotally connected with the upper end of the tongue substantially as described.

3. A clasp for garment-supporters, embodying a sheet-metal body having one end turned back to support the thrust of a lockingtongue and cars at the opposite end, a sheetmetal locking-tongue having ears at one end and a wire locking-lever formed into an upper webbing-loop, the lower-bar of which is pivotally connected withthe upper end of the body by the ears bent forward of the plane of the body, the ends of the wire being v ent outwardly from the center of said lower bar and ivotally connected with the upper end of tlie tongue by the ears bent backwardly of the lane of the tongue; substantially as descri ed.

4. A clasp for garment-supporters embodying a body portion having one end turned back to form a chamber, an elastic cushion held said chamber having a fo rwardly-extending lip and an apron or flange, projecting u at the inner side, a tongue, a lever pivota y connecting one end of the tongue and one end of the body portion to form a toggle,

whereby the cushion receives the end of the tongue when the clasp is closed; substantially as described GEORGE E. PRENTIOE. 

